What Kind of Hell is This?
by mmooch
Summary: Needing a sacrifice to close Acathla after she dusted Angelus, Buffy used herself. Where she woke up didn’t look like the fire & brimstone version of Hell.
1. Chapter 1: A New Demon to Kill

**What Kind of Hell is This?**

Summary: Needing a sacrifice to close Acathla after she dusted Angelus, Buffy used herself. Where she woke up didn't look like the fire & brimstone version of Hell.

Disclaimer: BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Stargate characters belong to Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright / MGM and Gekko. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission..

Warning: Some violence, but not too graphic. Same with the language.

Timeline: Post-Season 2 BtVS; pre-Stargate Atlantis.

A/N: In response to Challenge 1096: Go to Hell Challenge by Dragonhulk.

**Okay the challenge is this; someone other than Angel was sucked into Hell during the S2 final. I could just leave it at that but because this is a crossover site I'll add in a bit more.

The cross is the hell the person is sent to, but make sure you personalize it. If you pick Buffy as the one sent to hell you also need to pick a world (cross) that she would be least comfortable in. (more)**

A/N2: Canon changes for BtVS are Willow wasn't able to finish the spell in time and Whistler gave Buffy a cryptic warning about how to close the vortex.

A/N3: Thanks to my betas…AshDawnSoulmates and zigpal. They made me post this even though it wasn't finished. Blame them *grin*.

**Chapter 1: A New Demon to Kill**

**Sunnydale, Milky Way Galaxy  
**  
Just her luck that Angelus would turn to dust right as the vortex began to open within Acathla. So _he_ couldn't be the sacrifice necessary to close it back up. A quick look around confirmed that she was the only one left in the mansion. She found a pen and paper and quickly scratched out a note to Giles and the Scoobies telling them what she had to do. She only hoped that it would work.

Her instincts made her gather up whatever weapons she could put on her body in the short amount of time she had. Then she stood in front of Acathla and drew the sword out awkwardly before herself to make the killing strike.

She managed to pin herself to the statue and closed the vortex, but because of the angle, she only managed to wound herself – albeit a grave wound. She felt her body being pulled in and had the sense of being on a roller coaster before falling to the ground. Then the darkness overtook her.

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**Unknown, Pegasus Galaxy**

When Buffy opened her eyes, she glanced around the strange…_room_? she was in. Then she remembered those last minutes in the mansion and realized that she must have been sucked into a hell dimension. That could be the only explanation for the freaky interior decorating scheme going on here.

Her suspicions were further confirmed when she felt some demons approaching. The two big ones looked like they had some sort of mask fused onto their face and if it weren't for the ugliness of the face or the waves of evil coming from the other one, she might have been jealous about the last one's hair. Not a color that she would want, but it was long and looked silky.

The lead Wraith stared at the small human standing before it. "How did you get on my ship?" it demanded.

Buffy looked around and tried to sense the normal feel of being out on the water but couldn't. "Ship? What kind of ship? I don't feel the ocean."

"Don't play dumb with me. If you won't tell me, I shall simply force it out of you," the Wraith threatened, stepping forward.

"Yeah, good luck with that. I've been threatened by scarier than you," Buffy remarked flippantly. Okay, so they weren't _much_ scarier, but still…

After trying to feed and failing, the Wraith gasped out, "What are you?!"

Buffy grabbed the Wraith's hand that was put on her chest and bent it back until it was broken. Not feeling the need to hide her identity in hell, she stage-whispered, "Just your average Slayer. Now I didn't say that you could get all touchy feely with me so you're going to have to die for that. Before I do that though, what can you tell me about this place."

"Kill her!" the Wraith snarled at the guards.

The guards stunned her but it only hurt a little bit. However it was enough for her not to want to let it happen again so she grabbed one of their gun thingies and shot them with it until they went still.

Then she turned the gun on the talking one. "Now, about those questions I had…" she started.

The Wraith growled in anger and the first touch of fear it had ever felt, "My Queen will come to save me before you can get anything from me."

Buffy considered her prisoner's words and figured that she couldn't risk them being true. She'd have to learn about this place the hard way it looked like. "If that's the way you're going to be, then I guess there's no reason to keep you alive."

She grabbed the sword on her back and decapitated her opponent, hoping that it would be good enough to kill it. She saw the other two start to move again and quickly did the same to them.

She started moving through the hallways, looking for a way out. She only managed to get about 30 feet before she felt a bunch of those demons coming. _'Damn, they must have found out about the talky demon!' _she thought with dismay as she looked for a place to hide.

Fortunately they only were coming in small groups and she was able to take them out easily by relieving them of their heads. She decided that until she found out otherwise, she wasn't going to take any chances and she hadn't come across any demons yet that weren't killed by decapitation.

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**5 months later…**

It took a while, but eventually the demon ship ran out of patrols to send after Buffy. This gave her a chance to check out the area surrounding the ship. This all confused the Slayer; she could understand the ship being some kind of hell dimension, but this place reminded her of Earth…only with two moons – and no people. She figured the demons had something to do with the lack of people though.

Now Buffy was standing in front of a small silver pod of some kind. Well, small compared to the demon's ship. That made her wonder if this wasn't a ship, too. She walked carefully around the exterior, clearing centuries' worth of debris from it. When she got to the back, she noticed something that looked like a door. As if it guessed what she wanted, the door opened on its own. She carefully entered…not sure what to expect.

"Welcome, Viraga Custa," a voice coming from the ship announced, startling the blonde Slayer.

Buffy looked around even as she raspily demanded, "Who said that?" Wow, she might have to start talking to herself to keep her voice from going completely. How sad was that?

"I am a transport from the city of Lantia, Viraga Custa," it responded.

"Where's Lantia? And why are you calling me Viagra Couscous?" she asked, confused that the ship was talking to her. Maybe she was finally starting to lose her mind after all this time.

The ship answered, "Lantia is located on the planet, Proclarush Aqua. It is home to the race called Alteras. And you are the Viraga Custa, the Guardian, Protector, Hero."

"Um, sorry, but you've got the wrong girl. I'm not a hero," she bit out angrily. A hero wouldn't have let Miss Calendar die or Giles get tortured.

Clearly, the ship disagreed, though, "I am only programmed to respond to an Alteran or an Viraga Custa. While you are also of the city's race of people, my sensors clearly identify you as an Viraga Custa as well."

Not wanting to stay on this planet any longer, Buffy inquired, "Do you know how to get us to this Lantia place?"

"Of course, please be seated and we can go there now," it replied.

"Uh, okay," Buffy said, taking the nearest chair. She hoped that no place could be as bad as where she was. Immediately, she wondered if she brought down the Hellmouth on her head with that thought.

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A/N: Next…Not sure, should I go through her time learning about the city and some planets, or just skip forward to when the Stargate people show up?


	2. Chapter 2: Making a Home

**Chapter 2: Making a Home**

**(No, really…she's **_**making**_** a home!)**

Disclaimer: BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Stargate characters belong to Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright / MGM and Gekko. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

Warning: Some violence, but not too graphic. Same with the language.

A/N: In response to Challenge 1096: Go to Hell Challenge by Dragonhulk.

A/N2: Small edits in chapter one to reflect the new name change for Buffy.

A/N3: Thanks to my betas: satsuma, Odin, zigpal and NeverTooOld.

-----------------------------------

**Atlantis**

Buffy was fascinated by the gleaming – albeit eerily quiet – city. When she looked out one of the windows, she was surprised to find it was underwater. It made her think of the Earth legend, Atlantis. Maybe this was Atlantis. After all, 'Lantia' sounded pretty close. It could just be this dimension's lost city.

Which begged the question: was this _her_ dimension or the one Angelus was trying to open? The whole demony feel of the last place made her think yeah, but this place made her wonder. Maybe it was just another kind of Earth.

Speaking of which…Oh, she was going to feel so stupid if she was wrong here. "Lantia? Do you talk?" she asked hesitantly.

Luckily, the city answered her in a smooth tenor voice, "Yes, Viraga Custa. Can I assist you?"

A little startled that it worked, Buffy stuttered, "Uh…sure. We are on a planet, right?"

"Yes. This is the planet the Alterans designated Proclarush Aqua, which means 'Lost in Water'," the voice explained.

"They lost their city?" she blurted out, wondering how that ever happened.

She swore she could hear a hint of humor when Lantia replied, "Another way to translate it would be 'Hidden in Water'."

Buffy nodded. "Oh, that's right! I forgot the ship already told me this. Is there anyone here but me?" she asked, seeing how dark everything was around her.

"You are the only Alteran on the planet," he, it, _whatever_ answered. She _so_ needed to find some humans to talk to or she really would go crazy!

She bit her lip, worried about her old 'friends' from the previous planet. "What about those demons from the last place I was? The freaky ones that kept sticking their hands on my chest for some reason," she explained, hoping the city would understand what she was talking about.

Which Lantia apparently did. "Those were the Wraith. The enemy that forced the Alterans to retreat from this place," he – Buffy decided that it was a he, and just hoped that he wasn't like Moloch – told her, this time sounding a little sad. Could he be lonely? Weird!

"So I only have you and the ships to talk to here?" she inquired, hoping she wouldn't offend him/them.

Lantia's response convinced her that he had some kind of personality because she knew she could hear the smirk in his voice, "Until you learn to speak to the other sentient beings on this planet."

And that made her wary. "What _kind_ of sentient beings?" she asked cautiously. She could feel the punchline coming.

"Mainly the creatures that live in the water that covers most of the surface." And there it was – talk to the fish? He had to be kidding!

But she refused to give him the satisfaction of asking anything more about those creatures. "Does that mean there is land somewhere?" she inquired instead.

"There is a small land mass," Lantia hedged. Obviously, the term 'small' was subjective, so she guessed that he meant in comparison to the water surrounding it.

"Can I live there?" Then she realized how that must sound and quickly added, "Not that you're not great or anything, but I think I'd feel a little claustrophobic living underwater for very long."

Lantia seemed to understand though and offered, "The city can rise to the surface if necessary. However, that would make it vulnerable to the Wraith," he warned.

Buffy didn't want to do that. But he reminded her that he knew something about the demons. So, it was research time. Only she liked this version 'cause she could just ask instead of looking it up in musty books, "Now, what's their deal? Why did they keep putting their hands on my chest? It wasn't like they were copping a feel or anything."

There was a brief silence before he replied tightly, almost like he was trying not to laugh, "The Wraith use the energy that other beings have to sustain their lives, and races similar to their physiology provide the most efficient nourishment."

She sighed, "Great! So now I have to deal with _alien_ vampires? Can they turn Alterans or anyone else into a newbie Wraith?"

"No. They procreate to increase their numbers," he answered.

"That's a relief. Even if it's a shudder-worthy image." She shook her head to get rid of the mental picture, then inquired, "Back to the land thing, though. Is it safe for me to live there?"

"There are some dangers, but nothing unmanageable. The greatest danger – apart from the Wraith – is the planetary storm. It occurs every 50 cycles. But if you return to the city, you would remain safe," he recommended.

Buffy thought about that for a moment. "Cycle…is that like a year? Umm, one planetary revolution around the sun?" she clarified.

"Yes. One cycle would equal one year," Lantia replied. "The next storm should occur during the sixth cycle after the current one is completed."

"Okay. I'm guessing that if nobody lives on the land, it's pretty overgrown with plants and stuff. Is there equipment I can use to clear it? Also, do you have any books on home building? Like 'Building for Dummies'?" Buffy pleaded, inadvertently sticking out her lower lip in a pout. Like it would have any effect on a city.

"There is equipment, and instructions on how to construct shelters," he said. Then he suggested, "It would be best if you explained precisely what you wanted in your shelter. That way, there would be no waste of time or materials."

"Cool. Let's get brainstorming then. Uh, share ideas back and forth." Suddenly she felt a certain stirring and asked shyly, "First things first, though. Where are the bathrooms and do you have something I can eat?"

"Bathrooms? Do you mean the cleansing chambers where the Alterans clean their bodies and get rid of their bodily waste?" Lantia attempted to understand her strange wording.

Buffy laughed silently. It was almost like having a Giles around. That thought made her tear up, so she pushed it away. "Umm, yeah. Those rooms."

"Follow the lights along the walls. Once you have taken care of those issues, the lights will take you to the water reservoir. There are several forms of aquatic life-forms you can choose from for your protein intake," Lantia instructed her. "It will also provide purified water for you to drink."

"There aren't any of those sentient beings in the reservoir, are there?" she checked. If he was serious about that, she didn't want to eat them.

He reassured her, "No. The trawlers that capture the food are programmed to release any sentient being. There is a store of emergency nourishment packets available as well."

Seeing how quiet the city looked, Buffy asked cautiously, "How long have they been sitting there?"

"Approximately 10,065 years," the city estimated.

"And they're still good?" she said in disbelief. Food couldn't stay good that long, could it? Maybe these Alterans were better at this than humans, though. Really, really better.

Lantia hesitated for a moment. "I will check.…The preservation of the packets has held, therefore the nourishment is still sufficient," he said. The way he put it made her think she should try to avoid eating them if she could. They really didn't sound tasty if all he was worried about was the nourishment.

Buffy watched ahead of her and behind her as she walked through the city. The light was just enough for her to see 20 feet in either direction, then shut off after that. She asked Lantia about that.

"It is an energy-saving strategy," he explained.

She nodded. "How do you get the energy for this place, anyway?" she wondered out loud.

Lantia explained about ZPMs and other methods used. She kept talking to the city as she settled in for the night, day…whatever. She couldn't tell underwater anyway. Except for when she was in the 'cleansing chambers'; she refused to talk – even to a city – while she was in there.

-----------------------------------

Over the next several months, Buffy spent her days clearing the land and preparing the foundation for her home. Her nights were filled with either building plans or learning about her new home dimension. She rotated through the transport ships to get to and from the city. If there were any mechanical problems with them, Lantia would walk her through the maintenance.

When Buffy came back from the mainland those first few days, Lantia tried to tell her that there were more efficient methods for preparing the building site. However, Buffy explained that she needed the physical labor to tire her out since she wasn't fighting for her life on a semi-daily basis anymore. He didn't have an answer for that, so he let it go.

Plus, if she did things the 'new-fangled', _human_ way, she would have the necessary natural materials to hide her home when it was finished. Though she doubted that the Wraith would drop by, she didn't want to risk detection. To further help with that goal, Lantia suggested using the planet's geothermal energy to provide power for her dwelling, saying that it would minimize the risk of being 'seen' by any sensors.

They agreed that the home should be expandable. 'Cause once she was done building, she would need to start visiting the other planets for materials. It was likely that she'd come across an innocent or two that needed safe haven from the Wraith. So, she created a series of connected rooms: her bedroom, a kitchen, a 'cleansing chamber', and finally, a living/workshop room. Part of it would be for resting and the other part for her studies in Alteran technology. When it was complete, Lantia dubbed it 'Viraga Arx Aedes' – the Guardian's Fortress Home.

After a while, Buffy complained that she didn't have music to listen to. Lantia inquired what she meant; the former inhabitants had music that was available. Buffy just arched an eyebrow and replied that it wasn't her kind of music. So Lantia offered to do a memory search on Buffy and re-create the music from Buffy's past.

Since Buffy couldn't get him or the ships to call her by her Earth name, and she refused to be called Viraga Custa all the time, they compromised on the nickname of Vira – pronounced 'Vera' in English. But he made up for some of her loneliness by appearing to her as a hologram when they talked. It kept her from feeling totally alone.

On the one cycle anniversary of Buffy's arrival in the city, Lantia surprised her with a collection of movies and pictures of her past to go along with the music he already made for her months earlier. Now she really had a way to unwind in her living room. She cried and thanked him profusely for his kindness.

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A/N: I know that the 'v' in Latin is pronounced 'w', but I like the way it sounds this way. Sorry if that offends anyone. The name was helped along by NeverTooOld – as was the name of Buffy's home on the mainland. I decided to keep the name of the planet as it was. Again sorry for anyone who's upset by it.

A/N: Next…Moving forward.


	3. Chapter 3: Intruders

**Chapter 3: Intruders**

Disclaimer: BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Stargate characters belong to Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright / MGM and Gekko. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission..

Warning: Some violence, but not too graphic. Same with the language.

A/N: In response to Challenge 1096: Go to Hell Challenge by Dragonhulk.

A/N2: Just a reminder that Buffy now goes by the name Vira. She goes back and forth between Alteran and English when speaking to Lantia. I'm only translating the Alteran spoken in front of the SG personnel. For my convenience, I'm just using Latin as Alteran. Translation from ..

Thanks to my betas: zigpal and NeverTooOld.

* * *

**Mainland**

**About 4 years in the future…**

"Vira? There are intruders in the city," Lantia interrupted Vira's straightening up of the 'Fortress Home'. She didn't live alone anymore, and one of her new roomies had a tendency to get caught up in her experiments and stuff. But the additional company was worth the little idiosyncrasies she dealt with now. Heavens knew she had a few dozen herself.

But getting back to the problem at hand… "A lot or just a couple?" she inquired of the city's AI personality.

The answer was almost instantaneous, "Sixty-five. They are scouting the city. By the amount of cargo they have with them, it would appear they expect to be living here."

Vira sighed; this wasn't the first time people tried to take over the city. Hopefully she wouldn't have as much trouble with these ones. "On my way. Hey, are they descendents?" she asked belatedly. If they were, then it could mean something different to her. She just wasn't sure if that was good news or bad.

"A small number are, but it is a very weak connection," Lantia replied. "They are speaking several languages; one is the language you spoke when you first arrived – English."

"Interesting." The Guardian of the city thought for a moment, then ordered, "Let them search for now. Just keep them away from anything dangerous."

Lantia complied, placing secondary locks on the areas that shouldn't be accessed. "What about the power levels? Should I activate the emergency back-up?" he inquired. He was able to maintain what appeared to be just enough to keep the shield from completely failing. It was a good illusion for outsiders.

Vira shook her head, knowing that he could see it because of the link-ups between the city and her transport ship, "Nah. At least not until we know if we can trust them. This way, if they can read your systems, it'll make 'em sweat," she added with a hint of mischievous malice.

"You mean sweat in the sense of worry, correct? Not perspire?" Lantia attempted to clarify. He was still learning when she meant something literally and when she was using a 'slang' term.

Which made her laugh. "Yeah. Hey, at least now you know the difference and ask me. Before, you would have just changed the climate controls," she teased. "I'm impressed."

* * *

A short while later, Vira stepped out of her ship and told Lantia unnecessarily, "Okay, I'm here now. Lock the city down so they can't move around. That should help show them who's in control here. Can you let me hear them talking? I need to find their leaders."

"Certainly. However, according to their previous conversations, the ones known as Weir, Sumner and McKay hold the positions of greatest responsibility. Weir is the overall leader; Sumner is the leader of their fighting units; McKay is the primary holder of knowledge," Lantia informed her. "All three of them are in the primary information depository with a few of their…_minions_, I believe you would call them?"

Vira chuckled at his use of her slang. But she also rolled her eyes at the description of the room. He couldn't just say 'library'. Guess they had more work to do to get that stick out of his hard drive. Oops, that came out a little X-rated of her. "Alright. I'll make my way there, then."

Lantia hesitated, then offered a suggestion, "If you want them to accept your authority here, it might be best if you spoke Alteran when you first approach them."

"Sure, why not," she agreed. "It will be fun to try it out on somebody new. Question though: will they know the significance of me doing that?" Vira checked. What would be the point if they didn't know the language?

Having kept track of the intruders' movements and conversations, Lantia readily made a judgment call, "They are reasonably proficient at translating Alteran in its written form. The warning beacon translated itself into English for them, though."

"The male or female version?" she asked, having helped come up with different ones, dependent on the race of people who visited the city. They would either serve as a friendly warning or a threat.

"Since they haven't shown any overt hostile intent yet, I used the female avatar." In case she wanted clarification, Lantia went on to explain his reasoning, "Despite their leader being a woman, the majority of their command structure is male. Therefore, the female avatar would be less threatening to them – statistically speaking."

Vira rolled her eyes again with fond amusement. "Now you sound like Fred. Are you two spending time together behind my back? You'd better watch it or you might have two jealous warriors on your hands." She stood outside the room, getting ready to make a grand entrance. "Have they figured out anything's wrong yet?"

She could almost hear the smirk in his voice when he answered, "Yes. They seem quite concerned about the shield 'failing' in the outer wings of the city."

"Cool. We can use that to our advantage, if necessary. Open the door, please. Oh, and set up the mind link, too," she asked, wanting to talk to him without these people knowing.

* * *

**Message room**

Taking Lantia's advice, Vira spoke in almost a regal tone, "Quis es vos effectus in mea urbs?" _{What are you doing in my city?}_

McKay almost looked like he would start bouncing, he was so excited. It reminded Vira of when Fred would find something new to tinker with. She also had vague memories of Willow behaving that way back in her old life. "She's speaking Ancient! We might have a live Ancient here!" he exclaimed like a kid hopped up on sugar and caffeine.

"Do you understand what she said? All I got was 'city'," Weir asked, as eager as her chief scientist, but able to contain herself better. Probably due to all her years as a treaty negotiator.

The one person in the room not impressed was Colonel Sumner. He simply snapped, "Don't care. Just as long as she doesn't get in our way."

"In _our_ way? If she's an Ancient, wouldn't that be the other way around?" Sheppard drawled. His commanding officer must not have dealt with natives too often in his career if this was his attitude. Unless the local population was hostile, you were supposed to make nice with them. That was SOP (Standard Operating Procedure).

Sumner turned to glare at his subordinate, wondering again why he was cursed with this man on his team. "Unless there's more of them hiding somewhere, we clearly outnumber her. That means _we_ have the upper hand," he declared, growing increasingly agitated for some reason.

"Can you stop antagonizing our beautiful and hopefully _merciful_ hostess?" McKay ordered, raising his voice in his version of charming at the end for Vira's sake.

This was a unusual position for him to be in; normally he'd probably be the one annoying the natives. That's the way it was with people from Earth. But this might be an Ancient! He didn't want to risk upsetting her – especially since they didn't have any way home.

His attitude surprised Weir as well; she knew his personality from her own experiences with him. "Rodney?" she inquired with a sideways glance at their host.

McKay kept smiling at Vira as he answered, "She obviously understands what we're saying."

Seeing as how the woman hadn't so much as raised an eyebrow yet, Weir had to wonder, "How do you know that?"

The brusque scientist let out a frustrated sigh before he explained, "For one thing, the message Beckett listened to. It was in English. Which means somebody had to translate it. Then there's the not-so-pleasant looks she's been shooting the Colonel since he opened his mouth. That adds up to her understanding us."

Deciding she let this go on long enough, Vira spoke again, this time in English, "Your Doctor Rodney McKay is correct. I was testing your trustworthiness before deciding whether to have you expelled from my city." The look she gave them said what her judgment was at that point.

Weir hurried to _try_ to repair the damage Sumner caused with his hot-headed and arrogant remarks, "I apologize for the Colonel. He doesn't speak for our group. I am the leader of our expedition. My name is Elizabeth Weir."

"I see. Does not matter anyway," Vira responded dismissively. "Even if I were alone, you could not take control of the city from me. I am the Viraga Custa. The city follows my commands," she informed them, wanting them to see the folly of trying to bypass her.

But apparently Sumner wasn't willing to be reasonable. Lantia whispered in the Guardian's mind that the man's vital signs were spiking dangerous levels. "Our people can operate Ancient technology just fine," he shot back bitingly, guessing that was her ace in the hole.

Knowing that the city would protect her from an attack, Vira felt safe enough to press the issue. She wanted to test them before introducing the rest of her 'family'. Their safety was more important to her than her own. Plus there was the matter of the personal shield she was wearing as a back up. "Really? Why do we not test that theory? Can you inform our 'guests' what percentage of the city's systems they are able to access?"

The people were surprised to hear an answer come from the city's PA system, the tone one of a respectful subordinate, "Of course, Viraga Custa. The strongest link to the Alteran line is Major John Sheppard, the man standing next to Doctor Elizabeth Weir. With a lot of training and time, he could someday access 73% of the systems."

What he didn't mention was that currently all the intruders could access was 2% – the bare minimum for descendents to survive. It would be a bit more if they weren't currently in lockdown mode.

"And me?" she inquired, already knowing the answer. She just wanted to drive the point home.

Lantia knew what she was doing and agreed with her methods of explaining the situation to the intruders. And that's what they were until she declared otherwise.

"You currently are able to access 97.5% of the systems – the maximum amount for _anyone_," he replied.

That startled McKay. "Not 100% of it?" How unusual. _**'Why would there be 2.5% inaccessible to anyone?'**_ he wondered to himself.

As if she guessed his unasked question, Vira explained, "Lantia has to be able to defend itself from anyone, including me. In case I'm ever compromised."

"Seventy-three percent is still good," Sumner ground out, getting more and more rattled the longer this conversation went on. The pressure was building around his mind, clouding his judgment.

"Stand down, Colonel!" Weir commanded. "If you can't do that, I'll have you relieved of your command!" What was going on with him?

Ignoring the drama between the two leaders, Vira inquired, "Lantia, what is our greatest threat right now?"

"Aside from the intruders?" Lantia asked snarkily, stunning the expedition members and forcing Vira to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. He needed to work on choosing the right time to show his personality. "The additional energy consumption from their presence has almost drained the energy supply. The shield protecting the city from the ocean's waters will fail in 16.27 hours. Given the current rate of consumption." He left out that he could easily hold it with the reserves, knowing she had a reason for asking this.

The Guardian turned to the chief scientist and questioned him, "What would be your plan for solving this problem, Doctor Rodney McKay?"

Off the top of his head, McKay responded bleakly, "Well, our energy supplies – even if we could hook them up – wouldn't be enough for something like that. Offhand, my best suggestion would be to gate to another planet so we had more time to come up with a solution," he said, an apologetic smile towards Weir. He knew she would be disappointed about having to leave.

"But you do not know which planets are friendly and which have the Wraith or _other_ dangers," Vira pointed out. When she was sure she had their full attention, she added darkly, "And even if you find a friendly planet, the Wraith could still choose to cull it while you were there."

Sumner had enough of this self-important person lording her supposed authority over them. "Then you'll just have to tell us," he said, a clear threat in his voice.

Clear enough for Weir to react. "That's enough, Colonel. Major Sheppard, you are in temporary command of the military," she informed the younger officer.

Sheppard nodded, "Yes, ma'am. Colonel, your weapon please," he requested, turning to his CO and holding up his weapon, but still keeping the safely on.

"No! She's going to tell us!" Sumner snapped. Without warning, he raised his weapon and fired.

Two streaks of electricity raced across the room towards the man from the direction of the doorway as the people inside heard voices cry out at the same time, _'Desinere!' 'Mater!'_

* * *

A/N: Next…The fallout. {By the way, I know Sumner comes off worse than he was on the show, but just wait for it; there's an explanation.}


	4. Chapter 4: Sumner’s Problem

**Chapter 4: Sumner's Problem**

A/N: The Alteran speech between Buffy/Vira and her family will denoted like _"this"_

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #1096 'Go to Hell' by Dragonhulk.

Thanks to my betas: satsuma, Odin, zigpal and NeverTooOld.

Disclaimer: BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Stargate characters belong to Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright / SyFy Channel. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

_Previously…_

"No! She's going to tell us!" Sumner snapped. Without warning, he raised his weapon and fired.

Two streaks of electricity raced across the room towards the man from the direction of the doorway as the people inside heard voices cry out at the same time, _'Desinere!' 'Mater!'_

* * *

**Lantia Library**

The Expedition crew watched in horror as one streak of the lightning struck Sumner's gun and the other hit the man himself, knocking him back several feet. Sheppard instinctively swung his weapon towards the new threat, only to drop it immediately when he saw that it was: two very small children.

Before he could change his mind about the danger they posed, Vira quickly moved to place herself between the children and the rest of the room. She mentally asked Lantia for a soundproof shield for herself and the children. Well, soundproof wasn't an entirely accurate term since she could still hear the intruders; they just couldn't hear her.

"_What are you two doing here?" _Vira scolded the two youngsters.

The young boy looked at the girl before decided to take the brunt of Vira's anger for the both of them. _"We overheard you talking to Lantia about the strangers and that they were descendents. We wanted to meet them,"_ he explained.

Unable to keep her composure anymore – after all, she was only 4 years old – the girl threw herself forward into the blonde woman's arms. _"Mommy [Mater], why did that man want to hurt you?" _she cried out.

Vira sighed, but postponed answering so she could ask her own question. _"Does Fred know you left the mainland?"_

Before they could answer, Fred's frantic voice could be heard through their mind link, _"Vira! The twins are missing! Did they go to the city even though they weren't supposed to?"_

"_I'd say yes,"_ Solis – irrepressible as ever – answered unnecessarily.

Vira wondered if she had been this bad as a child, but chose to blame it on his being a boy instead.

"_Yeah, Fred. They're here. They happened to walk in just as one of the intruders tried to shoot me," _she told her best friend – at least in this lifetime. They had gone through a lot together and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"_Tried?"_ Fred sounded confused momentarily, and then guessed, _"Oh, you were wearing the shield, huh? Do you want me to pick up the kids?"_

"_Why don't you and Ro come in one of the shuttles? He can take care of the kids while you help me out with our shooter,"_ Vira requested.

"_On our way,"_ Fred answered before dropping the link. It was one of the more useful abilities the city had explained to Vira when he went over her role as protector. It worked great in situations where you couldn't afford to have external noise.

Mico cuddled in closer to her mother, looking up with her hazel-colored doe eyes. _"You aren't really mad at us, are you, Mommy?"_ she pleaded with her patented pout in place. Vira swore that thing was genetic for the females of her family; her mother used it on her father; she herself used it on several people; now she was getting the payback of having her own child use it on her.

Quickly adding to his sister's manipulations, Solis apologized – almost completely sincerely, _"Sorry for shocking the guy. He didn't stop [desinere] when I told him to,"_ he defended himself. Then his look turned to genuine concern. _"I didn't hurt him too much, did I?"_

Accepting that staying upset was a losing proposition with these two, Vira explained to both of them, _"Probably 'cause he doesn't speak Alteran, Solis. Only a few of them have even a passing knowledge of it; they speak Mommy's old language."_ Then she turned to her daughter to answer her concern. _"And I'm not exactly mad, Mico; I just didn't want them to know about you until I knew if I could trust them. Remember when the Genii found out about you?"_

Thinking back on those horrible days, Solis moved to hug his mother as well. _"We're sorry, Mommy,"_ he said, this time with absolute repentance.

Mico nodded her agreement, _"Uh-huh."_

The battle-toughened warrior slid away temporarily as a mother took her place…somewhat. _"I know. Next time, please remember to ask before you do something like this. If we say no, there's a good reason. Got it? Now I want you little monsters to go to the cavern and wait for your Uncle Ro to take you back to the mainland. I love you,"_ she reminded them with a hug and kiss, then sent them out of the room, knowing they'd find their way easily.

While she was doing that, Dr. Beckett ran to Sumner's side, checking to see if the man was still alive. Amazingly enough, Sumner was already starting to groan. He wasn't quite to the point of waking up, but groaning was a good sign. The dead didn't feel pain.

After she saw the Ancient send the two children away, Weir quickly spoke up on behalf of her people, "Viraga Custa? Will you let our medical doctor treat Colonel Sumner?"

Switching back the language of her youth, Vira responded, "That will be fine, Doctor Elizabeth Weir. However, I must insist that all of you lay down your weapons immediately. I cannot guarantee the safety of anyone that does not comply," she warned, not in an angry fashion; just a resigned one.

Pointing to the open door, Sheppard asked, "From those kids?"

Vira smiled slightly, surprising her guests/prisoners, then shook her head, "While they could pose a threat as well, I was referring to my comrades who are on their way to this room. One of them is quite aggressive, especially when Solis and Mico are nearby. He would be happy to shoot first and _never_ ask questions," she remarked pointedly. The others nodded, understanding what she meant and moved quickly to comply with her demand; it's not as if the weapons seemed like they would be useful anyway.

Watching the doctor check over their fallen team member, Weir inquired curiously, "What exactly did they do to Colonel Sumner?"

"They protected me the only way they knew how," Vira answered simply. "It was unnecessary, but they are only children, so a little crazy behavior is expected. Is there a particular reason he acted so irrationally?" she questioned in return.

"I promise you that had we known he would be a threat on this mission, he never would have been allowed to come," Weir vowed, giving away more about them than she understood.

But Vira was quick to point out what she had learned from the comment, "So this is a voluntary mission? You were not driven from your homeworld by invaders or war or something like that?" she asked, just to clarify the situation.

Deciding that a modified truth would better than lying, Weir confirmed, "We are explorers. During our journeys back home, we learned about the lost city of Atlantis and wanted to see if the legend was true."

Leery about their motives for coming, Vira wanted to know, "Say it is true, are you just going to congratulate yourselves for finding it and return home? Or is there something in particular you are looking for here?"

Mentally debating with herself about how much to tell this woman, Weir opted for a compromise. She wouldn't say where they came from, but she would explain that they couldn't leave. Maybe it would convince their host to assist them. "Because of the power needed to go back, we pretty much assumed this would be a one-way trip. Unless you know of a power source that can do it?" she asked hopefully.

"My friends are arriving now; we will discuss this further after Colonel Sumner has recovered," Vira replied, grateful for the interruption. There was no way she wanted to have this conversation at the moment. "Dr. Beckett, if you will take the other end of this stretcher, I will assist you in moving him to the infirmary. The rest of you will need to stay here until we get back," she commanded, knowing Lantia would keep them from going anywhere.

"Wait!" Weir called out. "Can we make an announcement of some kind to our people to let them know they aren't in any immediate danger?"

"That should be fine; just tell them that the city has gone into lockdown mode and you are working to fix the situation. That's close enough to the truth. Lantia, would you please let Dr. Weir make her announcement," Vira requested of the city's AI.

There was a moment's hesitation, before the AI answered, "Fine." To the members of the expedition team, it almost sounded petulant. To Vira, she _knew_ it was, and boy, would she be hearing about this later.

* * *

**Lantia Infirmary**

As they entered the infirmary, Vira let Dr. Beckett get Sumner situated while she pulled her friend – who was waiting there for them – out of earshot. This time she chose to speak in their old language – just to practice in case they had to converse more with the strangers. "Hey, Fred, something's up with the guy Solis zapped. The rest of his group was just as surprised when he tried to shoot me. Plus, Lantia said his vitals were going crazy just before he did."

Fred looked over at the two men, especially the one laying on the gurney. He was a handsome guy, if you liked that type. And he probably looked better awake. She shook her head to clear those thoughts. "So you want me to look for something in particular?" she asked.

Shrugging, Vira admitted that she wasn't sure, "Well, he wasn't exactly Mr. Friendly to begin with, but he really started to flip out the closer the failing shields got to us. He may have some kind of water phobia."

"Alright, we can check for any mental stresses. How bad did Solis hurt him?" Fred inquired, hoping that the little boy wouldn't have to live with killing someone; he was way too young for that.

However, Vira didn't have the same concerns. "It didn't look like much. Besides, we haven't taught him to access enough of his power to seriously injure," she reminded her friend.

"But if he thought he was protecting you, he might have accidentally tapped into more power," Fred pointed out in return. "It's happened to you before, and you have more practice with your control."

Vira snarled at the memory. "You're assuming that I didn't _mean_ to break that guy's arm. That idiot went after my babies; if I had _slipped_ my control, he'd be dead."

Just then, Mico mind-called when she remembered something important she'd forgotten to tell before. _"Mommy? There's something wrong with the bad man's colors."_

Despite the actions the man took, Vira didn't want her children to assume anything until they had more evidence to back it up. _"He's not a bad man…necessarily; he's just scared and upset."_ Then she thought about what Mico said and asked, just to clarify,_"Wait, do you mean when you 'look' at him? Is aura is messed up?"_

"_Uh-huh, his colors are wrong,"_ Mico answered in her normal, childlike way. _"There was a band around his head and it was getting tighter." _

Wanting to bang _her_ head against something, Vira settled for getting her children away from the problem. _"Thank you, sweetie. Why don't you have Uncle Ro take you home so Auntie Fred and I can try to fix him, 'k?"_ They all made their mental goodbyes and heard Ro say they were leaving via the cavern.

Switching back to English, Vira commented under her breath. "Great, just what we needed." Then she thought about it again. "Actually, this might be good news. Hear me out…if he was under somebody else's control, and we can fix that, then things are good, right?"

Fred wasn't willing to be as excited just yet, though. "Depends on what he was like before. Not to mention, we'd have to deal with the puppetmaster, if they're even here."

"Hey, you're supposed to be the optimist! No fair turning me into the 'glass is half full' girl," Vira pouted. "We'll assume that it's better than just a guy randomly wanting to shoot me. I wasn't even very irritating this time."

"I don't know…a lot of people seem to want to shoot you when they meet you. Isn't that why you want me or Ronon to go with you to new planets?" Fred teased as she started to walk back to the patient and doctor.

"Ha-ha. Very funny, science girl. Just take care of the guy, please," Vira called out before leaving to check the city systems.

* * *

A/N: Next…Suffering the consequences.


	5. Chapter 5: Getting Kicked Out of the

**Chapter 5: Getting Kicked Out of the Garden**

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #1096 'Go to Hell' by Dragonhulk.

Thanks to my betas: satsuma, Odin, zigpal, Hawkehunt and NeverTooOld.

Disclaimer: BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Stargate characters belong to Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright / SyFy Channel. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Little while later…**

Fred grabbed Vira when she came back in the infirmary. "Okay, so here's the deal. There was a mind control thing put on the Colonel guy. They actually were pretty sneaky about how they did it – especially when you consider that they might not be nearby to monitor the triggering mechanism."

Sensing Fred was about to go into geek-babble mode, Vira interjected, "Help me out here and bottom line it so we can talk to his people about whether he needs to be locked up or not."

"No, he's okay…at least as far as the mind control is concerned." Fred went on to explain the process.

**Library**

"…They – meaning whoever's in control of him – gave him a drug to make him easier to control, then put the post-hypnotic trigger in," Vira finished explaining, after telling the group that Beckett had stayed with Sumner to keep tabs on him. A quick comm check allowed them to hear that their absent colleagues were still alive and uninjured.

Weir asked, "What's the trigger?"

"When he felt like his life was in imminent danger, he would take any necessary steps to protect himself, even killing innocent people," Vira replied, knowing she wouldn't fall into the category of 'innocent' by any stretch of the imagination – not after everything she had done the past 5 or so years in this new life.

The expedition leader's next question shook her out of her internal musings before Vira had a chance to get too broody. "How can we be sure that he won't do this again?"

Fred took over the explanation at this point, "Oh, the electrical shock he got earlier neutralized the drug; I only found it because I have the equipment to search for things like that." They weren't about to admit the real reason they looked was because of Mico's ability; that would raise far too much interest in the young girl.

Now came the hard part.

Keeping her voice calm, Vira made her pronouncement as Viraga Custa of Lantia, "Unfortunately, we do not know who did this to him or if they are with the rest of your group. Because of the danger that presents, I cannot allow you to stay in Lantia."

The group's leaders started to panic. Weir was the first one to speak up, "But we don't have the power to get back home!"

The look Vira gave them was sympathetic. "I understand that. There are several planets where you would be reasonably safe to settle down on. Here is the list and a detailed description of each of them," she lit up a screen in the room to show the alternatives to the intruders.

Of course, McKay had to dwell on one phrase. "'Reasonably safe'?"

"You think I can absolutely guarantee your safety? Even here in Lantia?" Vira smiled to show she wasn't offended. "I am sorry, but I am not a goddess," she remarked.

Sheppard muttered softly, "I wouldn't mind worshipping you."

Despite being on the opposite side of the group, Vira replied to him anyway, which confused the others who hadn't even heard Sheppard's comment. For his part, the Major blushed and cleared his throat. "Yes, thank you, but regardless, I am only the Viraga Custa." Walking up to the screen, she pointed out the planet she recommended, "If I could offer a suggestion on which planet to settle, the fifth one from the bottom would be best for your situation."

"You've listed that as an abandoned planet. Why would it be safe for us to go there if the last people left?" Weir inquired. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't trust this woman; she just didn't trust her.

Understanding the leader's hesitancy, Vira explained, "A race of people separated and settled on two planets. The younger part went to one planet and the ones past the age of procreation went to the other. The plan was for the second planet to become a place for rest before death. Plus, this way neither planet had a population great enough to attract the Wraith. That, combined with a defensive system at each settlement, kept them safe for many generations."

Weir could sense there was more to this story than Vira was telling them. "What happened to change that?"

"Somewhere along the way, the child planet got the story mixed up and stopped sending their older people through the gate. The elder planet kept losing its current population, but without the influx of people from the child planet to keep it going, the group all but died out," Vira said, an unexplainable sadness was in her tone and eyes as she relayed the information.

"Why didn't they send a message to the younger group to find out what happened?" Sheppard asked this time.

"The elders were not given the address of their other world – to keep them from trying to go back," Vira added at their confused looks. "Eventually, they abandoned the settlement to look for others on the planet to join up with; only one came back to record what happened to their people in case anyone looked for them. She was the last survivor of the elders."

That sounded horrible to the group. "And the child planet?" Sheppard asked, thinking maybe they should go there instead.

But Vira shot that idea down before it could be asked, "Would not be comfortable with your presence as many of your people are too old to be allowed in their settlement. The facilities of the elder settlement are in working condition; we have been restoring in the event an ally needs to flee their homeworld. You will have to do physical work to survive, but it is possible."

After bringing up the calendar of the planet on screen, Vira smiled. "In fact, the planting season has just begun there, so as long as you do not wait too long, you will be able to get the crops in with plenty of time to spare. Although no one has farmed there for many generations, the ground is extraordinarily fertile. You may even be able to produce enough crops to trade with other cultures," she added optimistically. Man, Fred's personality really was rubbing off on her.

Looking at the list, Weir had to inquire what was the reasoning for not sending them to a different planet with established populations, "I see there are planets that already have thriving civilizations on them. What's wrong with joining them?"

Starting to get annoyed with these people's never-ending questions, Vira reminded herself that part of her duties was to be diplomatic. "Well, for one thing, I highly doubt that your level of technological advancement matches theirs. Even if it did, then there are the cultural differences to take into consideration."

Before they could ask yet _another_ question, she went on, "Most planets in this galaxy have been affected by the Wraith in one way or another. The only reason I don't say all planets is because I haven't visited all of them, so I don't know that for certain. Now, you haven't had to deal with these creatures before so you don't know what it's like to live your entire existence with the threat of them culling you hanging over your head."

Weir thought about it for a few minutes, then remarked aloud, "It would be like somebody who grew up in a peaceful country moving to a war-torn country. They'd have no understanding of the correct safety precautions to take. Will we be safe on the elders' planet?" she inquired, deciding this might be their best choice after all.

"As safe as you can be in this galaxy," Vira hedged, reluctant to give them false assurances. "Your numbers aren't great enough to attract attention, and the settlement is protected by a defense system. Only problem is, Fred will have to calibrate it so you can use your equipment there. Unless you are willing to live without electrical luxuries."

Cutting off McKay's cry of outrage, Weir quickly said with a smile, "I think we'll need the calibration."

Remembering how fun these calibrations could be –at least to a science geek – Fred almost bounced in place. "Great. I enjoy a challenge!"

Not willing to give up on the reason for their inter-galaxy trip, Weir had to ask, "Is there any chance you will allow us to return to Lantia at some point?"

"Once I have gotten to know you better and feel I can trust you, I suppose I could let small groups come to study different systems. However, that is only if you are trustworthy," Vira reiterated seriously. "While Fred and I are on the planet with you, I will run discreet checks on the people to make sure there is no other mind-controlled individuals among your group."

Weir gave her another smile; this one had just a touch of her diplomatic smile added to it. "We look forward to earning your trust then. Thank you for all your assistance – especially with this mind-control stuff. I'm not sure how or if we would have been able to deal with it on our own."

They made a city-wide announcement that the shields were in danger of collapsing, so they were checking out a planet they could possibly set up operations on until they could return to Atlantis. For now, they were keeping Vira and the others' existence a secret between just those in the Library. If necessary, they would claim the Colonel had a mental breakdown if he tried to say anything about them.

A few hours later, the expedition members started to make their way through the gate again, sad to leave Atlantis behind after such a short time there. Vira and Fred went along with them – but cloaked – so Fred could talk McKay through the calibration process. They didn't mention that part of the process was that since it was a security measure and Fred wasn't a blood Ancient, the Viraga Custa had to be present for it to work. Fortunately – or unfortunately – they didn't find any others under 'the influence'. That just left the question of whether or not Sumner's handler(s) were here or back on Earth.

The next day, two very tired people dragged themselves back to Atlantis and down to the cavern so they could go home and sleep for hours.

* * *

A/N: The child planet is M7G-677 from Season 1, Episode 6 _'Childhood's End'_ whose leader is Keras (comprised of 12 villages). I created a sister planet to handle the 'full-growns'.

A/N: Next…Hmm, let's go with the explanation of who the twins' father is. That sound good?


	6. Chapter 6: A Stroll Down Memory Lane

**Chapter 6: A Stroll Down Memory Lane**

A/N: Oops, sorry about this. I know I'm evil, but I had to do the meet and greet between Buffy and Fred before we found out about the twins' father, and that took longer than I expected. The flashback will take at least one more chapter and will contain a flashback within a flashback.

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #1096 'Go to Hell' by Dragonhulk.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal and AshDawnSoulmates.

Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Stargate characters belong to Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright / MGM and Gekko. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission..

**

* * *

**

Back on the planet, **Proclarush Aqua**

**Just after returning from the Elders' planet…**

Vira followed Fred back into their home and stood in the doorway, watching Ronon play with her children. Her thoughts went back in time to when she first found out she was pregnant. It started with meeting Fred…

* * *

_****Flashback to 4 ½ years ago****_

Exiting the gate in her cloaked ship, Vira felt her spidey-sense go into overdrive. So apparently, _this_ wouldn't be a planet for her to trade with the locals. However, if she could pick off a few Wraith before going home, her time wouldn't be a complete waste.

After she found a quiet, secluded spot to set down the transport, she grabbed her personal shield, the handheld radar – which told her about other lifesigns, specifically humanoid ones for this mission – and some weapons that were designed by her and Lantia to kill the Wraith without a lot of noise or fuss.

There was a long-range weapon that resembled a crossbow and shot incendiary arrows which burned the alien vamps from the inside out. For up close and personal fighting, Lantia drew up plans for a pair of spring-loaded, collapsible swords that strapped to her forearms. With a special hand/wrist movement, they were released and ready for fighting.

As she was about to set out, Vira felt a semi-familiar tingle in the air. She fought to recall the feeling that skittered over her senses. Her eyes widened when she remembered…it was magick of some kind! Somebody just did a whopper of a spell! Now she just had to figure out where it came from.

* * *

A couple hours later, and a dozen or so dead Wraith behind her, the former Slayer/current Guardian of Lantia stumbled onto a scene that made her eyes flash in anger. A small contingent of Wraith was surrounding a terrified brunette with large doe-eyes while the leader interrogated her. Apparently they wanted to know how she got on the planet without using the Portal – which Vira took to mean the Astria Porta, or Ring of the Ancestors as she'd heard some people from other planets call it. The poor woman so scared that she couldn't even talk.

Vira swiftly loaded her crossbow and fired off four shots in quick succession, each one striking its intended target. Before the Wraith could react, she charged forward, hoping to kill a couple more before they could move to defend themselves. Since the guards with the deadliest weapons were the first to die, Vira didn't face any resistance until it was just her and the ringleader – who was now using the woman as a human shield.

"Put down your weapons or she dies!" the Wraith demanded, holding its hand over the woman's chest.

"What kind of idiot do you take me for? I put down my weapons, and you'll kill us both." Then she gave an eerily Angelus-like smirk before daring the creature, "How 'bout this instead? Bind her so she can't run away, then we can fight to the death. That sound good?" she inquired, ignoring the frightened look on the woman's face for the time being. The important thing was to goad the Wraith into a fight.

The Wraith leader, knowing that it just needed to stall her long enough for another patrol to find them, agreed, "Fine. I accept your challenge."

Waiting until the Wraith had bound the woman and moved away from her, Vira laid down her crossbow and swords. "So…hand-to-hand or should we use knives?"

"Let's go with hand-to-hand; I'll enjoy breaking you before I feed off your bloody body," it answered with a snarl.

Vira was momentarily caught off-guard by the reminder of Giles. She knew that this thing literally meant bloody, but it still made her think of her Watcher. Shaking her head to chase away the memories, she snarled back, "Not gonna happen."

To the Wraith's surprise, its opponent was much faster and stronger than expected. To the monstrous creature's unfortunate detriment, it had been too long since its last feeding to be able to keep up with the unusual being. The Wraith's last thoughts before dying was that the Queen could use a food source like this to conquer the galaxy.

When Vira moved towards the bound woman, she wasn't surprised when the brunette shrunk back in fear. "Are you gonna hurt me now?" she whimpered.

"No. But we'd better get moving. See this?" Vira held up her radar, which showed a bunch of dots heading their way. "It says there's more baddies coming. Too many for me to handle right now."

Despite the fact that she was now free, the brunette didn't take off running – as Vira half-expected her to. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Vira gave a casual shrug of her shoulders. "You can't. Think of it this way, though, you can take a chance with me – who hasn't done anything to harm you – or you can try to outrun _them_ – who were tormenting you. I would rather you come with me 'cause I don't like losing an innocent, but I won't force you," she said sincerely.

The brunette nodded after a second, "I guess you got a point. Okay, which way do we go?"

**

* * *

**

Back at the ship

The brunette transformed from scared female to enthusiastic geek when she saw the transport. She couldn't stop herself from taking a quick walk around the exterior before following Vira into the ship. "Wow, how does this fly? Does it have retractable wings or something?" she babbled.

Vira smirked at the reminder of her long-lost best friend. She found herself hoping that this woman would stick around for a while. "Or something. By the way, my name is Viraga Custa, but you can call me Vira," she introduced herself.

"That's my cousin's name!" the other woman exclaimed with what sounded like a Texan twang. The more she spoke, the more pronounced it became. "Well, the Vera part; I don't think I've ever heard of Viraga before. Oh, my name's Winifred Burkle; Fred for short."

"Cool. I like your accent," Vira replied with a genuine smile. "It reminds me of some nice things from long ago. Ready for a fun ride?" she asked as she sat in the pilot's chair.

Fred sat in the co-pilot's seat gingerly. "Uhh, sure?"

Knowing what a kick it was to ride in one of these things – especially the first time – Vira remarked teasingly, "I'd say 'hang on', but you don't really need to."

As they approached the Astria Porta, Fred gasped, "What's that?"

Vira shot her an incredulous look. Guess that answered one question she had for Fred. "You mean you didn't come through that on the way here?"

Her new companion was shaking her head adamantly, watching the circle with what looked like shimmering water in fascination. How many laws of physics did that break for the water not to spill out? "No! I was just reading a book and suddenly got sucked into a portal. I don't even know what it was that I read," she answered distractedly.

"Huh. Do you know the language it was in?" Vira questioned. When Fred turned her head to shoot her a questioning look, she explained, "'Cause Sumerian and Latin can be used for magick spells. I'm sure there are other languages that would work too, but those are the two I know of for sure."

Understanding suddenly appeared on Fred's face. "You're from Earth?"

"Oops. Guess I shouldn't have let you know that until I knew I could trust you. I never was too good at being secret-identity girl." Vira gave another shrug, this one of resigned acceptance. "Oh well, too late to do anything about it now. Yeah, I got sucked through a portal too, but I kind of knew what I was doing." She quickly explained about Angelus and Acathla and her destiny as a vampire Slayer.

When she was done, Fred just sat there in stunned silence. To make matters worse, while Vira was talking, they entered the wormhole and exited into the receiving room of Lantia. "What is this place?" she questioned when she could talk again.

"This is home away from Earth," Vira said proudly. Then she corrected herself, "Well, sort of. Once we get to know each other better, I'll take you to my actual home. If you start to feel claustrophobic, we can take a trip out of the city," she promised as they exited the transport inside the 'garage'.

Looking at the tall ceilings and expansive room, Fred asked, "Why would I feel claustrophobic?"

Vira pulled her over to a window and activated the 'shutters' so they could see out. "'Cause we're under a few hundred feet of water."

"Like the lost city of Atlantis?" Fred gasped out.

"Exactly!" Vira chirped happily. "That legend is based on this city. Lantia? I'm back and brought us some company! Can you light a way for us to the residential area?" she said into the air, causing Fred to stare at her like she was crazy.

In fact, Fred was backing away slightly as she softly inquired, "Who are you talking to?" Was this all some sort of sick joke to make her let her guard down? Even as she had the thought, the lights began to come on, just as Vira had requested.

"The city. I call him Lantia, even though he's just an AI set up by the city," the city's Guardian explained.

That explanation sounded reasonable, so Fred decided to follow Vira down the hallway. "Wow! This is incredible!" she couldn't help but exclaim; seemed she was doing a lot of that lately.

But Vira nodded in understanding, "I know, right? What makes it even crazier is that the people who built this place left here like 10,000 years ago."

Fred stopped in her tracks to stare at her host. "You're kidding!"

"Nope. Those baddies from where we met drove them out of the galaxy when their numbers grew too large to fight. The Lanteans sunk the city and left to go back to earth," Vira recited the tale sadly.

**

* * *

**

Weeks later…

Watching her new roommate get settled into the newly-built addition to 'The Fortress', Vira asked, "So, what do you think of your new home?"

Fred sat on her bed next to Vira and her eyes misted over for a moment. "Well, I miss Earth, and feel sad that Momma and Daddy don't know what's happened to me, but aside from all that, this is great. I mean, it's _way_ better than running for my life and stuff. And all the new things for me to learn about? It's amazing!" she gushed.

"Good. I'm glad you like it 'cause it was getting pretty lonely around here with just myself and Lantia's AI." Vira stood up and got woozy all of a sudden.

Holding out a hand to try to steady her new friend, Fred asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just-" she managed to say before passing out.

* * *

Fred started talking the second Vira woke up a few hours later, "Umm, I hope you don't mind, but Lantia and I ran some tests on you while you were out… Just to see if there was anything wrong with you."

Vira looked around and grimaced as she realized they were in Lantia's infirmary. "I take it you found something."

"Well, yeah, but it wasn't what I was expecting," Fred said with an odd look on her pixie-ish face.

Something in her tone bothered Vira. "What's wrong with me?" she inquired suspiciously.

The question sent Fred into hyper-babble mode. "Nothing really. It was just more of a surprise, is all. I mean, you've never talked about what you did before I got here – well, not the people you met or anything-"

Vira rubbed her face tiredly and pleaded, "Fred, please stop babbling and just tell me what you and Lantia found out."

"You're pregnant!" Fred blurted out.

"Huh? How is that even possible?" Vira questioned, stunned at the revelation.

A little shocked that Vira didn't already know this, Fred started to explain, "Well, you see, when two people have sex-"

"I know where babies come from, Fred," Vira interrupted with a bemused chuckle. "What I meant was, the last 'person' I had sex with – hell, the _only_ person I had sex with – was Angel, and he was a vampire. Not to mention, that was like a year and a half ago. Unless sex ed _really_ changed on me, I don't think I could have been pregnant that long. Plus, again, he was a _vampire_! I don't think they can _have_ kids – except as meals." Fred's face scrunched up in disgust. "Oops, sorry about that. Didn't mean to gross you out. I'm just a little freaked right now."

While she and Fred tried to figure out what could have happened, Vira noticed that Lantia was being unusually quiet. "_Lantia_? Do you know anything about how I became pregnant?" she demanded warily.

* * *

A/N: Just wanted to give everyone a head's up that the next several months are going to be very hectic for me, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update any of my stories. I'm not abandoning anything, and if I get the chance to post, I will.

A/N: Next…We learn about the daddy, I promise.


	7. Chapter 7: Confessions and Connections

**Chapter 7: Confessions and Connections**

A/N: This chapter has reminders of BAngel in it. And it's a lot shorter than usual.

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #1096 'Go to Hell' by Dragonhulk.

Thanks to my betas: none; too worried about posting it right away.

Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Stargate characters belong to Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright / MGM and Gekko. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission..

* * *

_Previously…_

While she and Fred tried to figure out what could have happened, Vira noticed that Lantia was being unusually quiet. "_Lantia_? Do you know anything about how I became pregnant?" she demanded warily.

* * *

**City Infirmary**

"Yes," came the tentative reply from the AI. It sounded like he was scared to answer them.

When he didn't elaborate right away, Vira prompted him, "Well… how'd it happen?"

"I did it," he answered. "Well, not me exactly…obviously, but who I was before I was an AI and before I changed."

"Are computers supposed to babble?" Fred asked, confused by the oddness of the reply. Yeah, she and Vira babbled on occasion, but a computer? That was just weird.

Vira sighed as she rolled her eyes. "It depends on who programmed them. Lantia was designed to respond just like the person he was modeled after. So you're saying he made me pregnant, Lantia? How? I don't remember having sex with him."

* * *

_Flashback within a flashback to 3 months prior…_

"Vira?" Lantia's 'AI' called as he entered her home for the first time in the 'flesh'.

"Hey, Lantia. What's up?" she asked. She was a little surprised when he didn't answer right away, but walked over to her and touched her face instead. "New program?" she wondered aloud. It didn't feel like a normal physical touch – more like a combination of wind and electricity.

He smiled softly at her, then shook his head, "No. I wanted to share something with you…tell you the truth about who I am."

"O-kaaay," Vira drawled warily. This felt all too familiar to when she found out Angel was a vampire.

"I was never a computer program," he confessed quickly, deciding that the best way to do this was fast. "A long time ago, I had physical form like you do, but when I died, I became…_energy_, for lack of a better way to explain it. It's not the afterlife like you would think of it; more of a different plane of existence."

"You're not a ghost, are you?" she asked, shivering as she remembered James and his teacher possessing her and Angelus.

"No… It's hard to explain with words. It would be easier if I could show you my mind and feelings," Lantia said. Something in his voice sounded like he was pleading with her to agree.

Vira stared at him, trying to decide if he was a threat to her now. Then she inquired, tossing one question right after the other, without letting him answer any of them, "Why now? Why did you pretend all this time? Who are you really?"

He took what she guessed was an unnecessary breath, then let it out slowly. "I brought you here when you jumped into the portal. My kind can't technically interfere with the lives of mortals, but I managed to nudge your path in the portal so you'd come to this galaxy instead of going to Acathla's hellworld. I knew that you could be the one to defeat the Wraith once and for all, making this galaxy safe for humans again."

His expression became pained, and Vira was once again reminded of Angel whenever he looked at her with his soulful eyes. "What I didn't plan on was falling in love with you. Maybe I shouldn't have spent all this time with you this past year, but the more I did, the more I wanted to…the more I _needed_ to. I want to be with you, Viraga," he whispered thickly, the emotions in his eyes and voice were overwhelming her.

God, it really _was_ just like Angel again! Would she _ever_ have a normal relationship with a guy? Vira thought about all the men she had met on the different worlds in this galaxy, and knew that none of them came close to being as interesting as Lantia. What surprised her was that the idea of being _with him_-with him sounded really good to her. And she didn't think it was just loneliness talking.

But she had to be certain of something first. "You don't mean me becoming energy, do you?"

Lantia shook his head again, "No. We can choose to retake human form if we want to. I just wanted to tell you the truth first…to be sure there was a future for us before I did that. It's not something we can take back."

Vira smiled at him, and questioned, "Will you at least tell me your name?"

"Does this mean you'll let me show you?" he asked hopefully. When she nodded, he moved forward and said, "Just relax and don't fight it. By the way, my name is Janus."

"I hope not the same Janus Ethan worshipped," she quipped.

"No, that was the magical Janus," he assured her, remembering one of her stories about Halloween. Then he enveloped her in a blanket of light as they shared their lives with each other. Further and further they shared until they were suddenly and violently ripped apart by the Others.

Janus only had enough time to tell her, "The Others are punishing me for what I've done! Don't forget that I love you!"

Watching his lights disappear from her home, Vira whispered to the air, "I love you too, Janus," then broke down sobbing. It took her a couple days to find out that they had been 'together' for over a week; his energy had kept her body from starving or dehydrating.

_End Flashback within a Flashback_

* * *

"He didn't mean for it to happen," Lantia explained, "but because of how deeply he merged with you, he left part of himself within your body. That allowed you to become pregnant with his children."

"'Children'? As in more than one baby?" Vira almost screeched. She hadn't ever considered having one kid, much less more than that. Okay, she hadn't thought about it since becoming the Slayer.

"Oops," interjected Fred sheepishly, "Did we forget to mention you're having twins?"

"Uh, yeah! Anything else I should know?" the mother-to-be demanded snappishly.

Vira felt torn between wanting to hit Janus for doing this to her, and simply being happy that she had something to remember him by. After he was taken away by the Others, Buffy asked the real AI program to change its appearance so it wouldn't look like him anymore. The reminder was too painful to face every day. She did have pictures of him around her home, but they were like the pictures of the rest of the people in her past.

Her hand drifted down to her abdomen and settled above where her children lay. She'd be happy about this, she finally decided with a sad smile.

Fred came over and hugged the woman who rescued her. Now it seemed to be her chance to rescue Vira back. "You won't have to do this alone," she vowed. "I'll be here every step of the way."

* * *

A/N: Next…Guess we need to go 'back' to meeting Ronon, huh? Or maybe check in on the SG people? Tell me what you think.


	8. Chapter 8: Checking In

**Chapter 8: Checking In**

A/N: Canon change; Evan Lorne came with the original group.

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Challenge: #1096 'Go to Hell' by Dragonhulk.

Thanks to my beta: zigpal.

Disclaimer: BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Stargate Atlantis characters belong to Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright / SyFy Channel. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

'**Viraga Arx Aedes' (the Guardian's Fortress Home)**

**Two weeks later…**

Watching Fred work on another one of her inventions, Vira checked the calendar on the wall and sighed. "Well, we've given them a couple weeks to get settled in; think we should check in on the Earth people?" she inquired.

Ronon stopped sharpening one of his knives to ask, "Why are you so concerned about them? They _are_ adults, aren't they?" Vira and his girl spent a lot of time fussing over a bunch of strangers rather than cutting them loose like they should have.

"It's a cultural difference thing, Ro," Vira said with a smile. "Since they are from our homeworld, we feel a little responsible for their safety. Think of them this way: over half of them are like Fred; the rest are like me."

Deciding to tease the pair, Ronon quipped, "And you left them alone?"

"You'd better watch it, mister, or you'll be sleeping in the city tonight," Fred mock-snapped at her honey. Not that she had any intention of sending him away…which unfortunately he knew.

Ronon confirmed it by kissing her on the cheek, then checked with Vira, "I suppose this means I'm brat-sitting?"

"Or they're Ro-sitting…depends on your point of view," Vira teased right back. "I'm still not comfortable with exposing the kids to these people any more than what's already happened."

He nodded, "Okay, I understand that. Maybe we'll play hide and seek with Lantia while you're gone."

* * *

**The SGA World**

As soon as they stepped out of the gate, Vira and Fred could tell something was seriously wrong. The tense looks on the soldiers guarding the gate made the two women glad they came through in the ship. Even though it didn't happen, those guards might have shot first and asked questions later. For the ship, it wouldn't be a problem, but for them personally…bullets could hurt quite a bit if they couldn't deflect them all.

Announcing themselves, the two women set the ship down and waited for Weir to show up.

Although the people outside couldn't hear them, Fred still whispered, "What do you think is happening?"

They caught sight of the leaders headed their way. Instead of Sheppard escorting Weir to the gate, a different man was with her and McKay. In addition, Sumner was walking just behind them – although he wasn't in uniform like the unknown man.

"Judging by the looks on their faces, I'd say nothing good." Vira nodded to the left with her chin. "See those people huddled together near the treeline? They aren't part of the Earth group."

Even though it was said as a statement, Fred still offered her opinion, "With those clothes? I agree with you. Do you recognize any of them? Or anything that might say what planet they could be from?" she asked after studying the group as best she could from a distance.

"Nope," Vira replied, shaking her head. "Two weeks and they're already in trouble. They're _worse_ than the twins!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

"I don't know about that. Seem to recall a certain birthday of yours when the twins thought they'd surprise you…?" Fred started to say with a smile.

Under the view screen, Vira lightly smacked her friend, then stood up so they could get out. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. It took a week to clean that up and another week to convince them I wouldn't ship them off to the Genii. Well, let's go see how bad this is."

* * *

"Viraga Custa, I'm relieved you came," Weir greeted as soon as the two women stepped outside of the ship.

Sumner glared at them, though. "Her timing is a little suspicious if you ask me."

Ignoring the unpleasant man, Vira responded, "We thought we'd give you a week or two so you could settle in before we came to see how you were adjusting. What happened?" she asked, gesturing to the scene around them.

Shifting uncomfortably, Weir paused for a moment, then explained, "We decided to explore some of the other planets. Unfortunately, the first one our people went to was culled by the Wraith. A few of our people and about a dozen of theirs were taken. Major Sheppard was one of the abducted."

"Why didn't you finish exploring this world…or one of the worlds Viraga Custa told you about?" Fred asked the seemingly obvious question – at least to her and Vira.

"After some discussion, we agreed that being solely dependent on what was provided to us might not be the best choice for us long term," Weir replied, trying not to seem ungrateful – especially since now they needed to ask for help.

Thinking to herself, Vira couldn't help but feel a bit snarky, _'Gee, how'd that plan work out for you?'_

The unknown man spoke up with a question of his own, "How did you know we didn't go to one of the listed planets?"

"I do not believe we have met. I'm Viraga Custa of Lantia, and this is Fred," Vira said by way of introduction.

"Major Lorne, ma'am," he answered, touching the brim of his cap slightly. Fred could almost imagine him on horseback in the Old West with a cowboy hat on when she saw the gesture.

"We did not recognize any of the people so it was a safe guess you went to a different planet," Vira said reasonably. Rather than sit around questioning each other about unnecessary things, she decided to jump right to the heart of the matter. "Is there any chance somebody saw the symbols the Wraith used to leave? Maybe we could try to rescue them."

Weir nodded, grateful that their actions didn't appear to have broken the shaky truce they had with the guardian of Atlantis. Although she was the leader of the expedition, she allowed herself to be convinced that exploring other planets would be a good way of making themselves other allies in the galaxy – just in case Viraga Custa and her people turned out to be less than trustworthy. "One of the soldiers remembered six of the symbols, and we've checked the possibilities. There was only one that connected."

Fred frowned at that comment. "That's unusual. The odds of only one working? Out of all the possibilities?" She looked up and saw a bemused expression on her friend's face and decided that it wasn't important at the moment. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"The probe we sent through drifted into space, and we don't have any way to get there," Weir finished, hoping that Viraga had something they could use…like the ship they came out of a few minutes earlier.

Vira sighed heavily, "Alright, that is not good. The last time we saw a gate in space, it was a planet with a Wraith hive ship on it." Seeing that they had no clue what her concern was, she went on, "So instead of a handful of Wraith to fight, now we will have a small army to face – or whatever you would consider 200-300 enemy soldiers."

Leaning over to whisper, Fred suggested, "Maybe we should activate the mutual defense pact (MDP)?"

"Good idea. How about if you return to Lantia to watch things there, and have Ronon request help from worlds 3, 8 and…" Vira paused to consider another world that could be of assistance.

Fred knew the different worlds just as well as Vira and said, "I think 12 would be a good choice for this."

Vira nodded, "I agree. And get about 10 miniature dampeners for us to use on the ship. We will discuss a meeting place after we have talked some more." While Fred was doing that, she would explain to Weir's people about the MDP.

* * *

Settling down in their 'conference room', Vira began her explanation, "When we started making contact with other groups, we found out that each had a unique skill set to offer. While none of us were strong enough to fight the Wraith on our own, together we could hurt them."

"That is the real advantage the Wraith have over us 'cattle'. They are formidable because they can band together with one goal in mind: domination of their feeding grounds. We should involve the leader of the people you just met in our plans; no doubt they will want to assist in the rescue effort," Vira suggested/ordered. After all, it involved their people and homeworld as well.

After Major Lorne moved to retrieve the interim leader, Weir said, "The leader and her second were taken during the culling, but Kares seems to be the third in the Athosians' line of succession."

While they waited for Ronon's return, plans were discussed for the rescue, and then they moved onto what the Athosians would do. Kares said many wanted to return to their home, but were scared that the Wraith would come back and wipe them out.

* * *

A/N: Next…Back in time to meet Ronon for the first time and learn about the MDP some more. Which planets would you like to see as members? Except for the Genii, of course…and the Athosians.


End file.
